The use of Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses has created a stir among the public that people are being recorded without permission. In the United States, recording in public areas is allowed with permission, but in Japan, it is taboo due to stricter privacy laws.
Meta today announced that the camera function on its smart glasses will be turned off if it detects that the notification LED light has been deactivated by the user. By default, the LED light on the right side of the glasses will blink when a video is being recorded. This will let people around know that they are being recorded. If the LED light is blocked with a sticker, for example, the software will prevent the recording from being made.
But there are third-party services that turn off these LED lights. Meta also said that it has removed and banned ads offering this service from its platform. Aware of the privacy and liability issues that will arise, Meta will immediately provide a software update that disables the camera function if the LED light is modified.
Privacy issues and unauthorized video recording have existed since Google Glass was announced in 2013. But this was before continuous recording became the daily norm as it is now. What is certain is that in Malaysia there is still no bill to prevent recording using smart glasses that violates individual privacy.
